Is the only change the turbo or were other mods made at the same time?
Have you checked spark plugs to see what colour they are?
Is turbo internal or external wastegate? what boost pressure you running? What is the actuator rated for?

Haven't given up on this, just not much time given family commitments. Got a daughter that gets sick easily which leads to her needing be hospitalised.
Got swaybar fitted, front and rear now.
NRG180 - how much did it set you back to do the 5 stud conversion? Is it a one man job or would i need help? Not sure what i want to do with brake package until i drive it so might be a later job.
Decided i will set it up for hill climbs in the local area until I can afford to get all the body work done (rust repairs, respray, fit body kit).
Done a battery relocation to the boot with circuit breaker installed
Fitted some reclinable bucket seats (just some SAAS ones). Gonna be interesting with a helmet on, sunroof open is fine.
Got a rectangle heat exchanger from ebay as the square one I got with the intercooler kit sat too low for my liking and that sits much better now.
Tried to upload photos but I need to make the files smaller so might try later to do that.
Need to sort out clutch pedal (pedal goes straight to the floor, no pressure). Got a new slave cylinder to fit when I get time. Then onto the wiring for the thermos fans, water pump, gauges and sort out the coolant pipes. Hopefully have it running in time to do some hillclimbs next year.

I was talking to a few vendors about aftermarket cams (Spool make some too) and they all said it will move the power curve and add lag and affect the turbo response. I haven't decided on cams yet for my CA and it is off the road so no experience to offer.
I think with cams bigger than 256 you may need to change the lifters, can someone else confirm?
For turbo chat to Hypergear, the ATR28SS1.5 with ball bearing looks like will be a very good option for response. I am chomping at the bit to get enough cash together to get the engine freshened up and buy one of those.

I'm 37 and own an 89 180sx (CA FTW )
had it about 5 or 6 years, only drove it on and off the trailer when i bought it, work in progress. Was relatively stock but had a hard life so i got it cheap.....not stock anymore.
Previous import was an SW20 MR2 Turbo, nice car to drive if setup right, real mongrel to work on.

Do you have the haltech software? If so could one person drive and other use laptop watching haltech info? (e.g. check sensors working, check for knock, fuel pressure etc) See if you can get some info out of haltech when it craps itself.

Stao are the results you see from the ATR28SS turbo's any more consistent on CA18? I am saving/working away towards an ATR28SS1.5 for my CA18 for a responsive setup.
Coastie did you look into getting someone to fab up full custom exhaust/manifold vs off the shelf? If so was it price or build quality that lead you to off the shelf gear? After reading a lot about different people saying various brands/models are restrictive I was thinking of getting a custom full exhaust (dump all the way to tip), my theory is if it is custom you get full control over the piping size and if I ask for free flowing as possible it should be achievable with the right fabricator. I was also looking to use factory manifold as I am going for response vs outright horsepower....but may rethink that.
Either of you know how to tell if the manifold is restrictive other than try a different one when it comes time to tune?